Lifting heavy weights bad for the heart???? WTF???

I just read this article and to be frank it scared the shart out of me. Is there any truth to this or is this guy some kind of quack? I have been lifting heavy weights for the better part of my life and haven't dropped dead but now that I am getting older I worry about my heart condition. Please give me your most objective opinions on this and links disputing it if you find them. Do I need to start lifting like a girl now?

how many powerlifters have you heard of dropping dead on the platform from a torn aorta? there are people regularly lifting 1.5, 2, 3 and sometimes even 4x their bodyweight.

This guy says that lifting half of your bodyweight causes the aorta to tear. that means that by me picking up an 80lb object, I put myself at risk of 'aortic dissection'

look how the article finishes:

Muscle Damage

Similar research has also been conducted by Yokohama University in Japan in 2008, which proved that lifting heavy weights caused a lot of damage to your muscles, as well. Lifting heavy weights led to the burning of the muscles, causing severe pain. If heavy weight lifting continues over a long period of time, your muscles can become damaged permanently.

I call B U L L S H I T. Maybe there is some legitimacy to their research, but the conclusions are bull****.

Probably partial quackery in there. No doubt that lifting really heavy weights spikes your blood pressure. Over time that could cause issue, but more likely it's going to be an issue in untrained individuals who try to go too heavy too soon.

He says that lifting more than half your body weight will put an immense strain on your aorta, causing it to tear in some places.

Half of your body weight? B. f'ing S.

Bravery and stupidity are often synonymous. So are cowardice and intelligence.

About this Author
Charles Webb has been writing since 2000. He works as a copy editor and the feature health-and-fitness writer for the "Pasadena Citizen." Webb has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Houston.

how many powerlifters have you heard of dropping dead on the platform from a torn aorta?

There are some. Jon Pall comes to mind.

Jón Páll Sigmarsson died on the 16th January 1993 of a heart attack. He was working out in his gym in Iceland when he suffered the heart attack, caused, it is thought, by a torn aorta which was related to a weakened heart, a problem that was known to exist in his family.

Bravery and stupidity are often synonymous. So are cowardice and intelligence.

Probably partial quackery in there. No doubt that lifting really heavy weights spikes your blood pressure. Over time that could cause issue, but more likely it's going to be an issue in untrained individuals who try to go too heavy too soon.

Half of your body weight? B. f'ing S.

^Exactly. I was thinking some guy in his 40s with 40% bodyfat who's never squatted before going into the gym and loading 225 on the bar for his initiation is probably going to explode his heart.

There are far more studies showing benefits to heart tissue than there are for harm.

Jón Páll Sigmarsson died on the 16th January 1993 of a heart attack. He was working out in his gym in Iceland when he suffered the heart attack, caused, it is thought, by a torn aorta which was related to a weakened heart, a problem that was known to exist in his family.

"It is thought" isn't the same as "they did an autopsy and found that he died from a torn aorta, caused by his freakish deadlifting power"

So it was a hereditary condition. He could have died the same way even if he didn't lift. And the majority of people out there aren't lifting what JPS was.

Articles like this piss me off. This guy has a degree in journalism but he's putting out this kind of trash? "Oh, well, a doctor said it...so it must be true." Doctors also say that pot is bad for you and will ruin your life and that you're better off taking klonopin or some other bs pill that makes you emotionally dead.

Jón Páll Sigmarsson died on the 16th January 1993 of a heart attack. He was working out in his gym in Iceland when he suffered the heart attack, caused, it is thought, by a torn aorta which was related to a weakened heart, a problem that was known to exist in his family.

Please explain how a ruptured aorta will cause a myocardial infarction.

Oh wow, a B.A. in Journalism? He's about as qualified as I am to write on the subject.

637/390tng/615 - belt/wraps, best gym lifts.
600/370/600 - best competition lifts.
575/330/560 - best competition lifts at 181 raw.
"I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." - 1 Cor 9:27

I agree that this seems illogical but the person who was quoted was actually a medical doctor. I am having a hard time believing there is any truth to this and I also wonder how they came upon the number of "half you bodyweight" as being the breaking point but I have to admit it scared me.

I agree that this seems illogical but the person who was quoted was actually a medical doctor. I am having a hard time believing there is any truth to this and I also wonder how they came upon the number of "half you bodyweight" as being the breaking point but I have to admit it scared me.

medical doctors are never wrong, nor do they ever have an agenda.

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I agree that this seems illogical but the person who was quoted was actually a medical doctor. I am having a hard time believing there is any truth to this and I also wonder how they came upon the number of "half you bodyweight" as being the breaking point but I have to admit it scared me.

That may have been the propagandist intention. Lance Armstrong isn't a powerlifter or a strongman, innit?

I agree that this seems illogical but the person who was quoted was actually a medical doctor. I am having a hard time believing there is any truth to this and I also wonder how they came upon the number of "half you bodyweight" as being the breaking point but I have to admit it scared me.

Many people quoted in many things are medical doctors yet are often conflicting and regularly misleadingly quoted. It's the get out of jail card hidden in paragraph 19 that's conveniently omitted from this online article abstract.

I'd encourage you all to read http://www.badscience.net/ and his book and then re-read any news article or study with "definitive" conclusions or exciting headlines.

Koyongi: I am going to accomplish this by following a haphazard training system, and forging elite fitness.

[QUOTE=RedMaster;631477983]I just read this article and to be frank it scared the shart out of me. Is there any truth to this or is this guy some kind of quack? I have been lifting heavy weights for the better part of my life and haven't dropped dead but now that I am getting older I worry about my heart condition. Please give me your most objective opinions on this and links disputing it if you find them. Do I need to start lifting like a girl now?

It is true that performing the valsalva maneuver increases blood pressure to extremely high levels during a lift and that increase can cause thickening of the left ventricular wall in the heart; however, this is not dangerous if it comes from exercise, it is only dangerous when you're a fat **** with ventricular thickening because you have chronically high blood pressure and high blood triglycerides. Exercise of any sort in acceptable levels is always healthier than flippin through the channels on tv with a bag of potato chips and a six pack lol. No worries my friend, this is a popular misconception among the medical community (of which I am a part of).

As a person who had a triple bypass in July '09 was told to get back in the gym in September '09 by the surgeon i think this cardiologist is just looking for new patients ($$$$$$$). I was told to take it easy and get back in the groove but, i was also told that i could continue powerlifting as long as i listen and pay attention to what my body was telling me. I'll admit though the first time i benched it was a little nerve racking but, i finally said F*&% IT if i'm gonna go i'm going on my terms.

On the other hand Kris Dim hand it happen to him. A little boring (annoying music) but listen to what his cardiologist told him about returning.

The neurologist I work with is always telling me about how dangerous it is to lift such heavy weights. He is an m.d., f.a.a.n., f.a.a.s.m. and while he is an extremely good neurologist he knows literally nothing about diet, exercise or health. Doctors study pathology, not health.

The neurologist I work with is always telling me about how dangerous it is to lift such heavy weights. He is an m.d., f.a.a.n., f.a.a.s.m. and while he is an extremely good neurologist he knows literally nothing about diet, exercise or health. Doctors study pathology, not health.

yeah bro but like you are really ****ing fat lol

The iron is the enemy; it's constantly fighting you in the gym. You need to attack the enemy without fear.

What the hell, it's not bad for the heart, just different adaptations.

There are two categories of structural changes, known as concentric and eccentric hypertrophy, that take place in your heart as a result of how you train.

Eccentric hypertrophy is largely the result of high volume, low intensity, and low pressure training that typically takes place in endurance training programs. This kind of hypertrophy results in greater left ventricular volume and increased blood volume per stroke. This means that every time your heart beats it’s able to deliver a greater amount of blood and thus your resting and working heart rates are lower.

Concentric hypertrophy primarily takes place under high load, higher intensity, high pressure (high resistance) training like that of Powerlifters, Weightlifters, and Wrestlers. Concentric hypertrophy means the heart’s walls are thicker, meaning they are able to contract with greater velocity, but the chamber volumes themselves are often not any larger than average.

What the hell, it's not bad for the heart, just different adaptations.

There are two categories of structural changes, known as concentric and eccentric hypertrophy, that take place in your heart as a result of how you train.

Eccentric hypertrophy is largely the result of high volume, low intensity, and low pressure training that typically takes place in endurance training programs. This kind of hypertrophy results in greater left ventricular volume and increased blood volume per stroke. This means that every time your heart beats it’s able to deliver a greater amount of blood and thus your resting and working heart rates are lower.

Concentric hypertrophy primarily takes place under high load, higher intensity, high pressure (high resistance) training like that of Powerlifters, Weightlifters, and Wrestlers. Concentric hypertrophy means the heart’s walls are thicker, meaning they are able to contract with greater velocity, but the chamber volumes themselves are often not any larger than average.

People confuse the concentric hypertrophy with left ventricular hypertrophy caused by high blood pressure and assume that it's bad for you.

Screw nature; my body will do what I DAMN WELL tell it to do!

The only dangerous thing about an exercise is the person doing it.

They had the technology to rebuild me. They made me better, stronger, faster......

I'm totalling 1650+ raw @220 and have had a pacemaker for the last 11 years. There is no real evidence against heavy lifting, trust me, I've looked.

Whoa. This is alarming to me. I was born with aortic stenosis and have always been told to lift lighter weight for higher reps, which to me is crazy because that is worse for your blood pressure than the heavy weights would be. I have been lifting heavy for the past 4 years and have seen improvement in my heart condition. I have recently switched to lighter reps and less weight following my Cardiologist's advice.

Is there really no risk with lifting heavy weights? Did my Cardiologist just give me a general advice? He kind of smirked when I told him I lifted in the 1-3 rep range and stuff and said "if your gonna lift, your gonna lift." So I don't know what to think anymore. With heavier weights, I feel more comfortable.

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